Censoring scares Cubans from social media

HAVANA, CUBA: Cuba has denounced online social network Facebook and Google-owned video sharing network YouTube for closing its account and censoring video links from the two websites.

YouTube censored the video channel of the Cuban official site Cubadebate and closed it for "alleged violation of copyright", xinhua reported quoting Cubadebate.

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"Google censors, Facebook, too. Today we woke up under a new attack," said Cubadebate, which reported the closure of its account on YouTube Friday.

Cubadebate said that YouTube closed its account citing "copyright infringement" in a video on Cuban former CIA agent Luis Posada Carriles, who was on trial this week in the US for immigration fraud.

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Cubadebate's account on Facebook was also closed after it demanded YouTube restore the Cubadebate channel.

"How can these two companies appear to be the Apostles of Copyright?" Cubadebate questioned, noting Google had been accused of "monopolistic practices" and Facebook of "theft of ideas."

According to Cubadebate, at the time Google closed its YouTube channel, it had more than 400 videos, including interviews and messages from former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The channel had 1.6 million downloads since its opening nearly three years ago.